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Bernie Sanders: I Have A Nightmare, Er, Dream

It’s been a good couple of weeks for Bernie Sanders. If the government shuts down (which it didn’t, really – if 83% of government employees still went to work, how that constitutes a shutdown is beyond me), and nobody hears that USG tree fall in the forest, does Bernie still

Eek! It’s a Republican that wants to cut federal spending! Eek!

have a job?

In other words: If the public discovers that they really don’t need a federal gov’t, then what Bernie’s been selling for several decades now becomes worthless. Bernie captures the horror that is the shutdown in this Week in Review, which should probably be more aptly titled “Bernie Favors The Biggest Possible Gov’t That Can Ever Be Created”.

But wait! There’s a Bonus for Bernie: He’s been appointed to the Senate Budget Committee that has a Dec. 13 deadline to create a long-term budget. Considering Bernie was a part of the Senate that failed to pass a budget for four years (was that also a nightmare?), I’m quite sure that Bernie will do the right thing and finally address the deficits and debts that are killing the economy and putting people out of work – and oh, he’ll also work to repeal Obamacare which is raising premiums on hard-working Americans and putting them out of work, and reducing their hours.

Done laughing? OK. Let’s begin:

A member of the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders was appointed to a Senate and House budget conference committee to try to create a long-term budget plan by Dec. 13 to avert another government shutdown. “I am excited about being a member of the budget conference committee and I look forward to working with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to end the absurdity of sequestration and to develop a budget which works for all Americans.

The “absurdity of sequestration” was a reduction in the rate of annual budget growth. It was not an actual cut in spending. Spending still went up. In Bernie’s world, anything that threatens the growth of government is bad, and does not create jobs. Only in the workers’ paradise that Bernie lives in does someone think that increasing government spending creates jobs. To be clear, it destroys jobs, because the dollars taken from the private sector in taxes are not now available to hire people, invest in capital expansion, and develop new products – they are taken away to pay for National Park Service rangers to prevent veterans from visiting their own open-air memorials in the nation’s capitol. But Bernie continues:

In my view, it is imperative that this new budget helps us create the millions of jobs we desperately need and does not balance the budget on the backs of working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor,” Sanders said.

Sorry to break the news to Senator Flatlander, but the rich pay the taxes in this country – the very people he seems to loathe with a Brooklyn-accented passion.

The shutdown and the crisis atmosphere it created kept Congress from doing the work it should have been doing all along. “There are enormous issues facing this country. The middle class is disappearing. Poverty is at an all-time high. We’re not even beginning to address the international crisis of global warming or our crumbling infrastructure or extremely high unemployment,” Sanders said.

Wow, that’s a mouthful, even for Senator Grievance. Let’s hit them all:

1. Middle class is disappearing:

The middle class is struggling because of a lack of economic growth. This lack of growth correlates with the massive increase in federal spending and regulation that has occurred in the last decade or so. The answer to a lack of economic growth is not an increase in the size of government – it’s an argument against the growth in the size of government. Government spending (federal) has increased from roughly $1 trillion in 1985 to $3.6 trillion in 2012. Spending has quadrupled during the same time period that Sanders says the middle class is disappearing in.

If Bernie’s looking for long-term damage, he could take a look at Detroit and see what statism in its native form has wrought. Or ask the 100 million or so dead in the 20th century thought of left-wing extremism.

He cited the damage to the democratic process by those who would have annulled the last election to get their way.

I must have missed the news article that outlined who “those” people were who tried to annul the last election. But hey, if you print it on a taxpayer-supported website, it must be true.

He cited the lost confidence of vulnerable citizens – the elderly, the sick, veterans, the disabled, Head Start families – who depend upon their government to keep its promises. He cited a loss of international prestige. And he cited the long-term damage to federal workers. “The American people are better than this. They deserve a better government,” he said.

Speaking of veterans, Bernie, they were prevented from visiting the memorial to their service by the National Park Service under direct orders from the White House. How’s that promise-keeping working out for you now? Do the vets and the rest of America deserve a better government, or is it only the constituencies you list above?

Playboy Interview Like Martin Luther King Jr., Jimmy Carter and Steve Jobs before him, Sanders sat down for a Playboy Interview. Out on Thursday, the topics raised by noted economics writer Jonathan Tasini ranged from health care to the gaping wealth and income gap in America.

So Bernie has time for a Playboy interview but doesn’t have time to address all the challenges he’s listed above? Let’s take a look at who his own website is comparing him to, in terms of prior interviews:

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Really. So now Bernie’s to be compared to MLK? Why not Gandhi? Oh, wait – Gandhi never gave a Playboy interview.

Jimmy Carter: A standout failure as a President. This is quite the group he’s being named with here. Did Bernie see this list?

Steve Jobs: Steve had the iPod being manufactured overseas. Whoopsy. That’s going to make it tougher for those Head Start kids to find a job once they graduate.

In short, I suggest that Bernie re-name his weekly review to something more descriptive. Some examples are provided below. These are provided to Bernie, free of charge, and he doesn’t have to shut down the government to use them:

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One thought on “Bernie Sanders: I Have A Nightmare, Er, Dream”

nicely wrtten. As bernie’s hairdresser (that last saw him the year the senate passed a budget), I can tell you that you have a great read on him and understand his personality. it’s like crazy on redbull. Anyhow, i’m not sure that his statements and words even warrant anyone reading or them responding to them they are so absurd, but glad you did!